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Res ipsa loquitur

 

AIS goes out, which the other three boats would witnes. Wild oats gets a wind shift and sneaks ahead of the other, AIS miraculaously comes back on,

 

Dont need to prove that someone turned of AIS. "The facts will speak for themselves"'.

Not followed the race, but is the theory that WO motored or something? Why don't they put tagged seals on the prop shaft or something to keep it simple?

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No the issue is that the sailing instructions clearly day the AIS must be on and receiving and transmitting for the race. This is a safety regulation for many reasons but I think mainly for man overboard as crew are now supposed to carry AIS transmitters so they can easily be found and the MOB alarm sounds on all nearby boats. I believe this is the first time it's been mandatory for this race or in fact any race. We all know that safety rules are one thing you don't mess with in offshore yacht races and especially this one with its history.. If AIS had been around in 98 many lives could have been saved.

I would say that the WOXI team just overlooked this addition to the rules and turned theirs off like previous races.

I think it could prove to be a major issue for them. My guess is probably a 30min penalty which loses them the lead.

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Hey, at least I had the wrong family.

no offence wanted to any party, just still a little annoyed about that pist teenager from a rich family who got off after beating the female cop senseless

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Protest dismissed. The jury found that the way the protest was lodged was invalid so WOXI result stands.

Rules that apply: RRS60.2 (a), Definitions – Conflict of Interest.

Apparently BJ should have lodged.

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Found this AIS map on anarchy....

 

Also what is meant by “it was not on the entire race”?

 

Off the entire race or off some of the time?

This map looks like the tracker information which is sent via a mobile phone.  this is also mandatory requirement but not realy a safety requirement. It updates the map sporadicly especially in areas where mobile phone coverage is weak or sat phone is being used for emails etc. Its mainly used for general information to land users, not a safety device.

 

AIS is only through VHF and only visible to nearby yachts that have AIS system on board. It is the holy grail of new safety equipment. Nearby boats can see your every move on a small screen in the cockpit and you can see all the boats nearby. You can press the allarm button and all the boats nearby instantly get screeching allarm.Turning it of  is bad.

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So we all agree at the very least there is (was) a case to answer.

 

What an unusual sport this is, I can’t think of any other sport where a breach of rules can occur and another competitor can nullify the committees power by informing the committee unofficially.

 

The comitee looked into it and said yes there is a case to answer, the international Jury looked into it and said yes we need to meet and discuss this. Jury meets and then decide it can’t help. Is that all correct?

 

If so egg on everyone’s face......

 

I just want closure what are we to say to our non sailing friends when they ask about this? On the surface it sounds quite dodgy.....

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I don't think there is anything dodgy going down with the protest, the jury did the right thing by the book. A few questions remain in my mind.

 

Was the WOXI AIS intentionally turned off? I believe there is likely only 1 or 2 people that know the answer to this and most of the crew have no idea either way.

 

Second question, surly the race committee as a professional race management team, knew that their protest was going to be ruled invalid? They even made the statement on the protest form that they knew nothing about the rules breach until Black Jack made the media statement. That right there made their protest invalid as the committee can't act on information supplied by an interested party.

I think the race comittee may have lodged the protest knowing that it would be invalid but just to be seen to do something....

 

Last question, did the wild oats crew know the protest was going to be ruled invalid too and therefore changed their story from 'it's not a mandatory thing' to then claim it was on and must have malfunctioned knowing that they were not going to get investigated? If they did make those claims in the protest room and it was proven that someone had turned it off turned off then then they are in deep trouble.

 

Maybe a rule 2 sportsmanship protest would unearth quite a bit here, however I believe it made zero difference in the outcome of the race anyway.

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I don't think there is anything dodgy going down with the protest, the jury did the right thing by the book. A few questions remain in my mind.

 

Second question, surly the race committee as a professional race management team, knew that their protest was going to be ruled invalid? They even made the statement on the protest form that they knew nothing about the rules breach until Black Jack made the media statement. That right there made their protest invalid as the committee can't act on information supplied by an interested party.

I think the race comittee may have lodged the protest knowing that it would be invalid but just to be seen to do something....

 

Wouldnt that count as dodgy? If the committee knew it would be invalid, used up BJ’s 6 hour protest window while BJ thought it was being dealt with......

 

I’m not saying any party is dodgy, just the whole thing on the surface seems dodgy, the general public will hear something like, “ wild oats finished first, might have broken rules,but no one can check because of the rules”.

 

I wonder if it was a different boat (family) if the outcome would be different?

 

Lastly do people really care if the fastest boat on paper crossed the line first? Black Jack beat WOXI on both handicap systems!

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I think the race committee had to be seen to be doing something - to send the message that they want boats to use AIS. 

If they did not lodge a protest, then it some would think that next year is OK to turn off AIS, as WOXI was not checked or challenged.

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"Sail-World NZ spoke to a Wild Oats XI crew member after the protest who advised that the AIS system was working but was at a much weakened strength as a result of technical issues on board following a media interview before the start of the race, but after a check had been made to ensure the AIS was working and at at full strength.

 

The race relay vessel also advised two other competitors that their AIS was not working mid-race yet did not advise Wild Oats XI of issues with their AIS, and the crew were unaware of any fault until after the boat arrived in Hobart."

 

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AIS CAN appear to be working but isnt.this is usually an antenna or cable fault. In this case, the aid worked fine up to just before the start, and fine again after the finish. Imo it was turned off, or at least transmit disabled.

Way too much of a coincidence

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